Tag: Christian Books

Guest Posts

Guest Post: How to Improve Your Reading Experience

Michelle Lesley

If your theology pretty much matches up with mine (as outlined in the “Welcome” and “Statement of Faith” tabs) and you’d like to contribute a guest post, drop me an e-mail at MichelleLesley1@yahoo.com,
and let’s chat about it.

Today, I’m excited to share with you a guest post from my daughter Michaela, who has recently started a blog of her own. This article is adapted from her blog article How to Improve Your Reading Experience. I know many of you are connoisseurs of Christian books, so I thought this might be helpful. Some of her suggestions can even help with your Bible reading.

How to Improve Your Reading Experience
by Michaela Lesley

Anyone who knows me knows that I am an avid reader. I have my mom, grandmother, and aunt to thank for this obsession, which began at a very young age. My mom would take me and my younger brothers to the library every few weeks, and it was an outing I always looked forward to. Every summer, my mom would pick out a book series and read out loud to me and my brother, Jordan, every day. My grandmother also enjoyed reading out loud to me, but because she lived in another state, she had to get creative. She would pick out books or short stories and record herself reading them on a cassette tape (it has definitely been a while since I wrote out the word “cassette”, and I almost forgot how to spell it). I would play these tapes whenever I was in my room playing, and at night while I was trying to fall asleep. My mom’s sister, author Kaye Dacus, was always the type of person to give books or Barnes & Noble gift cards as presents, and I always knew I was in for a treat whenever I got something from her in the mail around my birthday.

While I’m a few classics short to be able to consider myself a well-seasoned reader, I do consider myself good at reading. I know how to get through many books quickly, and I know how to stay in the loop when it comes to new popular books. Here are a few tricks I’ve learned over the years to make the most out of reading:

1: Goodreads.com– This is one of the easiest ways to keep track of your books. You can log in to Goodreads through your preferred social media account, or you can start a separate account through the site. There is also a very handy app, if you aren’t often near a desktop or laptop. On this site, you can mark books as To Read, Read, or Currently Reading. If you are currently reading a book, you can track your progress by putting what page you are on, and the site will tell you what percentage of the book you have finished. Once you have completed a book or marked it as “Read”, Goodreads gives you the options to rate the book on a Five Star scale and post a review of the book. You can also create your own “Shelves” to further organize books. I personally create a new shelf for every year, so I can keep track of how many books I’ve read that year. You can also see which books are trending, and Goodreads will recommend new books to you based on what  you have read. These are just a few of the many things you can do with the site, but these are the features I find the most useful. You can create an account here: Goodreads

2: Reading Playlists– This is something that I have been doing for a while now, and it makes reading so much more enjoyable. I use Spotify to create playlists specifically for reading. These playlists have songs and scores from some of my favorite movies. I also use Pandora to listen to the Movie Scores station. I mostly read fantasy and science-fiction, which means lots of intense fight scenes and bad guys giving monologues. I can picture the the characters and what they’re doing, and having music helps set the scene in my head. I’ve also found that I read faster when I listen to music.

3: Audiobooks and Ebooks– Thanks to being an adult, I don’t have as much time as I used to to sit down and read a book. But, there are currently 67 books on my To Read list, and I add more all the time. So, I have to find ways to get through that list somehow. My favorite non-traditional way of reading is listening to audiobooks (and yes, listening to a book counts as reading a book. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise). I listen to books while doing house work, while driving, or just while doing something relaxing. I use Audible.com to listen to my audiobooks. Audible is part of Amazon, and a membership is $15 a month (your first month is free). The $15 a month gives you 1 credit, which you can use to buy any audiobook. The great thing about this is that most of the books cost more than $15, so it’s a really great deal. You can listen to the books on your smart phone, tablet, or computer, even without an internet connection. Once you finish the book, you can remove it to save space on your device. However, you can re-download the book at anytime. Overdrive is a service that many libraries use, and it allows you to “borrow” audiobook and ebook files with your library card.  This way, you have the convenience without having to spend any money! Kindle (Amazon’s ebook service) and Nook (Barnes and Noble’s ebook service) are useful as well! You can either download the apps onto your phone or tablet, or you can buy the actual Nook/Kindle devices. Ebooks tend to be much cheaper than physical books, and you can take them with you in your pocket! You also have the option to read in the dark, which is helpful if you are traveling at night or if you have a roommate.

4: Book-to-Screen Adaptations– We live in a time where it seems like every popular book is getting a TV show or movie. If I see a preview for a movie or TV show that looks like it might interest me, and I see that it’s based on a book, I immediately add that book to my To Read list. That book becomes a top priority. I feel an urgency to read that book. If you make yourself finish the book before seeing the movie or watching the show, then you will have a reason to finish it quickly. It’s exciting to see a story you love come alive on the screen, and watching that movie or show can be your reward for finishing the book. On the flip side, if you have a favorite movie or TV show that you find out is actually based on a book, then it will be easy for you to get into that book. This is a great way for people who aren’t already readers to get into reading.

5:  Reading with Friends– back in 2012, all of my friends and I were reading a popular trilogy. We had seen the previews for the first movie, and we knew we wanted to read the books together and see the movie together. We would all carry the books with us to class. We would read them in the van on the way to basketball games. We would stay up late and text each other our reactions to certain chapters. We all finished those books in about a week and a half. Reading a book with friends is a very fun way to bond as a group. You can encourage each other to read, and you can discuss the story together. My best friend and I are currently reading a book series together. A new book comes out every year, and we read it together and have fun conversations about where we think the story is going plot-wise.

6: Developing Reading Habits– getting through books can be hard if you are like me and you are easily distracted. With Netflix, YouTube, and Social Media, it’s easy to waste your free time on other things. Setting a designated time to read is a good first step to prioritize reading. Many people like to read before bed, to help them unwind before they fall asleep. Having a specific place to read can also help you focus. I have stopped reading in my room, because I am more easily distracted in there. I prefer to read in my living room, on the couch, with my reading playlist playing on my phone. This specific setting helps me concentrate. If I find that I’m still getting distracted, I pull up my phone’s stopwatch, and try to see how quickly I can read one page. I hit the “lap” button every time I make it through a page. When my phone is being used for a purpose like that, I find that I don’t check Facebook or Instagram as often.

Happy reading, my friends! ❤

Michaela Lesley was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She loves to travel and wander around new places, and is always reading a new book. She is a certified Jesus Freak, and is 100% OK with that. Michaela blogs at Michaela of Baton Rouge.

ALTHOUGH I DO MY BEST TO THOROUGHLY VET THE THEOLOGY OF THE BLOGGERS WHO SUBMIT GUEST POSTS, IT IS ALWAYS POSSIBLE FOR THINGS TO SLIP THROUGH THE CRACKS. PLEASE MAKE SURE ANY BLOGGER YOU FOLLOW, INCLUDING ME, RIGHTLY AND FAITHFULLY HANDLES GOD’S WORD AND HOLDS TO SOUND BIBLICAL DOCTRINE.
Mailbag

The Mailbag: Christian Fiction Recommendations

Michelle Lesley

This article is kept updated as needed.

I love to read Christian fiction but find that it can be a bit of a minefield. It can get off course theologically and may reflect the world more than biblical Christianity. Have you ever given recommendations on Christian fiction writers?

Great question! We all need a little mind candy now and then, but we don’t want it to be a vehicle for delivering bad theology to our brains.

First, let me sort of set the stage for what’s in my mind when I think of “Christian fiction.” Other people might have other definitions of this book genre, and that’s absolutely no problem, but, to me, Christian fiction has an overtly biblical message or theme and maybe even a blatant presentation of the gospel. When I think of “Christian fiction” I’m not thinking merely “family friendly” (a good clean story with nothing biblical in it), or a novel with a character in it who happens to attend church or be a Christian but there’s nothing else biblical in the book, or a fiction book on a non-biblical topic that’s written by someone who’s a Christian. So the books I’ll be recommending below will fit this definition of “Christian fiction.”

Next, I know the bulk of Christian fiction marketed to women is romance and Amish romance. And, in keeping with the “stick out like a sore thumb” weirdness that is Michelle Lesley, it’s not a genre (Christian or secular) I personally enjoy. There’s nothing wrong with it if you can find a good one and you like romances, but the books below aren’t romances simply because that’s not what I read. I tend toward biblical history novels and – I don’t know if there’s a particular name for this type – “real life scenario” contemporary Christian lit.

A few final points:

•I don’t hold Christian fiction to quite as high a theological standard as I do Christian non-fiction (theology, Bible studies, “Christian living” books, etc.). Some of the books below may have a few theological “cow pies” you’ll have to step around and ignore, but, for the most part they’re in line with biblical theology.

•My personal standard for recommending a biblical historical fiction book (a fictionalized account of a true Bible story, such as Lynn Austin’s and Chris Skates’ books below) is that the book has to stay true to what the Bible actually says took place including the dialogue, details, and chronology, and any of the fictionalized parts have to comply with biblical principles, theme, history, and culture of the time period.

•I haven’t checked any of these authors (as I would non-fiction Christian authors) to see where they stand on the role of women in the church, and I haven’t researched any of them to discover whether they associate with false teachers.

That said, here are a few recommendations:

Karen Kingsbury– Although her older works of fiction may not be too problematic, she is not someone I’d encourage you to read because of her recent theological trajectory.

Lynn Austin– Here’s a “book report” I wrote on Lynn Austin’s Chronicles of the Kings series. I read that entire series and loved it. It was VERY good and theologically strong.

Chris Skates– Chris’ biblical historical fiction rendition of the story of Noah and his family in The Rain was a fun read.

Those are the only ones I’ve actually written about. Here are some others I’ve read and enjoyed over the years. (Quoted excerpts courtesy of Amazon.com)

Hank “The Bible Answer Man” Hannegraaff:

The Last Disciple– “As the early church begins to experience the turbulence Christ prophesied as the beginning of the last days, an enemy seeks to find John’s letter, Revelation, and destroy it. Meanwhile the early Christians must decipher it and cling to the hope it provides as they face the greatest of all persecutions.”

(Update: A few months after the original publication of this article, Hank Hannegraaff decided to join the Greek Orthodox church. Though I read and enjoyed this fictional book of his, I would no longer recommend his non-fiction work or ministry as biblically trustworthy.)

Paul Maier:

A Skeleton in God’s Closet– “Dr. Jonathan Weber, Harvard professor and biblical scholar, is looking forward to his sabbatical year on an archaeological dig in Israel. But a spectacular find that seems to be an archaeologist’s dream-come-true becomes a nightmare that many fear will be the death rattle of Christianity.”

The Constantine Codex– “While touring monasteries in Greece, Jon and his wife Shannon—a seasoned archaeologist—uncover an ancient biblical manuscript containing the lost ending of Mark and an additional book of the Bible. If proven authentic, the codex could forever change the way the world views the holy Word of God.”

Kathi Macias:

People of the Book– “Farah lives in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with her family, and wants nothing more than to develop a deeper devotion to her Muslim faith. She sees the month of Ramadan as her chance to draw nearer to Allah, and pursues that goal. All goes well until the prophet Isa—Jesus—appears to her in a dream and calls her to Himself.”

Joy DeKok:

Rain Dance– “What happens when a Christian woman facing a childless future and a woman seeking an abortion are waiting to see the same doctor? What if after that “chance” encounter they are unable to forget each other?”

Randy Alcorn: I’ve read and enjoyed most of Randy’s fiction books. Off the top of my head, I don’t recall any I wouldn’t recommend. Two of my favorites were:

Safely Home– “Is this the day I die? Li Quan asks himself this question daily, knowing that he might be killed for practicing his faith. American businessman Ben Fielding has no idea what his brilliant former college roommate is facing…But when they are reunited in China after twenty years, both men are shocked at what they discover about each other.”

Edge of Eternity– I would call this book a modern day Pilgrim’s Progress. “Imagine Being Pulled Into the Hereafter. While You’re Still Alive. A disillusioned business executive whose life has hit a dead-end, Nick Seagrave has lost loved ones to tragedy and his family to neglect. Now, at a point of great crisis, he unbelievably and inexplicably finds himself transported to what appears to be another world.”

Frank Peretti: Years ago, I was a big Frank Peretti fan and read most of his novels. I don’t remember any overt heresy in his work, but it’s been well over a decade since I’ve read anything by him, so that could just be my faulty memory. Most of his novels deal with spiritual warfare, so there’s the potential for some errant theology there. Read discerningly. Two of my Peretti favorites are:

This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness (a two book series)- “The small town of Ashton is the unexpected setting for an epic clash between good and evil as a Christian preacher and a news reporter unearth a plot to take over their small community, and eventually the world.”

There are also some books that would fall under the category of Christian fiction which I would strongly recommend against:

The Shack (or any other book) by William Paul Young: While I mentioned that I don’t hold Christian fiction to as high a theological standard as Christian non-fiction, I definitely don’t recommend any Christian fiction fraught with blatant heresy or whose main goal is to teach heresy, and that’s what Young himself has stated is one of the objectives of this book (although he doesn’t consider his views heresy). The movie based on this book releases next month (March 2017). Here are some resources that will explain the theological problems in The Shack in more detail.

Redeeming Love (the book or the movie) by Francine Rivers

The Chosen (any books or materials): Yes, it’s fiction. If you want the non-fiction version, read your Bible.

Inappropriate/Unbiblical Content: In an effort, I guess, to be cutting edge, cool, or gritty, there are novels marketed under the Christian fiction genre which contain profanity, graphic sex scenes, and glorification of other sinful behavior. I would not recommend those books regardless of the reason these types of things are included in the book.

Girl “Porn”: This is really more about what’s going on in the reader’s heart than the book itself. It’s been said that romance novels can be a form of literary “pornography” for women. I mentioned graphic sex scenes above, but I would also caution women away from non-graphic Christian romances if they cause you to create an idol in your heart of the “ideal” man that no real life man can measure up to. If you’re married, read a lot of romances, and find yourself increasingly dissatisfied (in any way) with your husband because he can’t hold a candle to the leading men in the books you’re reading, you need to put those books down and walk away from them. That’s coveting.

False Teacher Fiction: There are a few false teachers who have branched out into the fiction genre. Beth Moore and Priscilla Shirer have both recently released novels, T.D. Jakes has written some fiction, and I believe there are a few others. Even though these books may be fiction and might not even contain any false doctrine, I could not, in good conscience recommend a fiction book that could serve as a “gateway drug” to their non-fiction books.

If you have a question about: a Bible passage, an aspect of theology, a current issue in Christianity, or how to biblically handle a family, life, or church situation, comment below (I’ll hold all questions in queue {unpublished} for a future edition of The Mailbag) or send me an e-mail or private message. If your question is chosen for publication, your anonymity will be protected.

Book Reviews

Book Review ~ Reviving New England

Michelle Lesley

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I’ve said it dozens of times: I don’t write book reviews. But I’m fortunate that there are awesome, godly people out there who do, and who do a bang up job of it. So today I wanted to share a great review of the book Reviving New England. The review was written by my friend Rachel Williams over at danielthree18.com, and the book was written by my other friend, Nate Pickowicz, pastor, podcaster, and blogger extraordinaire. They are both lovely, doctrinally sound people I’m proud to know, so I’m certain you’ll enjoy both the review and the book.

Reviving New England 
(Why Women Ministry Leaders Should Read This Book)

by Rachel Williams

I ordered Nate’s book, Reviving New England: The Key to Revitalizing Post-Christian America, and I sit down to enjoy a treatise on the history of liberalism in New England, and what pastors in New England need to do today to turn the churches back to Christ.

Instead, I spent the majority of my time reading chunks of the books out loud to my husband, whispering, “YES!,” and underlining massive sections of it, realizing that every woman who leads women’s ministries across the United States (and beyond) needs this book.

Today.

Pickowicz does start the book with a brief history of the rise (and fall) of Christianity in New England. For those of you not students of church history, he does an excellent job of making this information relevant to today and fast-paced. (Trust me, I’ve heard my fair share of less-than-exciting lectures on this topic. He does a great job keeping your interest.) However, the history lesson is brief, and this is where the book becomes, in my opinion, necessary for women’s ministry leaders today.

The rest of the book is written for pastors and centers on how to preach the Word of God. He does a masterful job of navigating the problems in so many pulpits and offering real practical solutions to guiding the church back to sound biblical principles.

So why do I think women’s ministry leaders need this?…

Click here to continue reading.

Mailbag

The Mailbag: How can I be discerning about books?

Michelle Lesley

mailbag

 

How do you evaluate a book (for instance if you know nothing about the author)? I have about half a bookshelf right now of books (both fiction and nonfiction) that I need to evaluate and I have no idea how to commence doing so. (The books range from children’s fiction to Bible study books and lots in between.)

A couple of the steps in this article would apply for any book: know your Bible and pray for wisdom as you research the book and author.

For Bible study, theology, or other non-fiction Christian books, I would vet the author pretty much the same way I described vetting teachers in the article. That will often be faster than reading the whole book. Also, go to Amazon and peruse all the other books the author has written. You might get a better idea of where the author stands, theologically, by reading all of his book titles and summaries. Many authors have an author page on Amazon, too. It’ll have a bio and customer reviews.

I don’t hold Christian fiction books to quite the same theological standard as non-fiction for discerning Christians who know their Bible really well (for example, see the section on Karen Kingsbury here). Some of them are really just clean “family friendly” fiction with the occasional cow pie of bad theology that you can “step over” as you’re reading, but some, such as The Shack are pretty egregious in their false doctrine. For Christian fiction, one quick “litmus test” that might be a possibility is to check out who’s endorsing it. If you flip to the back cover and see endorsements by a bunch of false teachers, it’s probably one to stay away from.

Asking around can help as well, especially with Christian books. Ask trusted friends if they’re familiar with the author or book and what they think of it. Join some theologically sound Facebook groups and ask about the book in the group.

For all books, another possible shortcut might be book reviews. Scads of bloggers review books. The key is finding bloggers and review sites whose opinions or theology you trust, and that may take a little time and effort. Tim Challies and Aaron Armstrong do a lot of trustworthy book reviews- mostly Christian non-fiction, but other genres on occasion. There are a lot of Christians on GoodReads that review all kinds of different genres. Finally, you might want to try a book summary web site like Books at a Glance. They’ll give you the “Cliff’s Notes” version of books.

If you go through all those “screening process” steps and still have books/authors you haven’t been able to vet, the only solution is to actually read the book and compare the concepts and statements in it to Scripture. Then you can write a review of it and post it on line for the next person who comes along wanting information about that book.

Let’s hear from you readers out there! Got a favorite book blog? A go to reviewer on GoodReads? Comment below!

If you have a question about: a well known Christian author/leader, a Bible passage, an aspect of theology, a current issue in Christianity, or how to biblically handle a family, life, or church situation, comment below (I’ll hold all questions in queue {unpublished} for a future edition of The Mailbag) or send me an e-mail or private message. If your question is chosen for publication, your anonymity will be protected.

Book Reviews, Entertainment, Faith

Book Report: Chronicles of The Kings

Michelle Lesley

9934I don’t write book reviews by request, but when I happen across a book (or in this case a series) I really like, I enjoy recommending it and giving the author kudos.

Such is the case with Chronicles of the Kings, a biblical history novel series by Lynn Austin. The five books in the series are:

Gods and Kings
Song of Redemption
The Strength of His Hand
Faith of my Fathers
Among the Gods

I originally picked up Gods and Kings because the blurb I had read about the series said it was about Hezekiah, who is tied for first place with Josiah as my favorite Old Testament king. Gods and Kings begins with the story of the evil, Molech-worshiping king of Judah, Ahaz. As the series progresses, we also walk through the reigns of Ahaz’s righteous son Hezekiah, who sets out to restore Judah both materially and spiritually after Ahaz’s idolatry, and its consequences, have ravaged the land. Hezekiah’s son Manasseh then takes the throne, bringing new meaning to the words polytheism and debauchery. Along the way, we meet with the kings’ contemporaries, Isaiah, Eliakim, Micah, and other biblical as well as fictional characters.

I could insert the obligatory gushing here about how well crafted the stories were and how Ms. Austin’s writing turned me into the literary equivalent of a chain smoker, but there were two things about this series that eclipsed how artfully it was written.

First, Ms. Austin did her homework. And she did it extremely well. As someone who had to research biblical culture, geography, customs, etc., myself for my own book, it is blindingly obvious that the books in the Chronicles of the Kings series were well and thoroughly researched. I can only imagine the hours Ms. Austin must have spent in the biblical text, commentaries, and extrabiblical historical sources. From details about dress to architecture to meals, Ms. Austin was attentive to the minor tidbits that helped me “see” what was happening and feel like I was part of the story.

On a more “macro” level, Ms. Austin’s description of Assyrian warfare, atrocities, and sweep to tyrannical domination over the Middle East gave me a clearer picture of the way events transpired that supported and even clarified the biblical text for me. If you have ever wondered why God used the Assyrians as an arm of judgment against Judah and Israel, or if you have ever wondered why God commanded that nations similar to Assyria be wiped off the face of the earth, you’ll understand after reading Chronicles of the Kings. Normally, I would never recommend that people go to a novel for clarity on details in God’s word, but Ms. Austin’s research is that good.

Finally, and most importantly, Ms. Austin gets the theology right, and in a way that is applicable to believers on this side of the cross. Her characters come to the realization that salvation is through grace, not through the works of empty ritual. That anything we put before God, even our own ideas of who God is, is an idol. That any sinner, no matter how despicable, can repent and experience God’s forgiveness. And on, and on, and on. I rarely read Christian fiction because I have found so much poor and even heretical theology in so many books in this genre. But somewhere around the middle of this series, I nearly came to tears as I realized that Ms. Austin was going to stay true to God’s word and not let me down by stooping to ear tickling or apostasy. And for that, I sincerely thank her.

All of the books in the series are available through Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble.com, and CBD. The Kindle, Nook, and e-version of the first book in the series, Gods and Kings, is currently free at these sites. You may also, as I did, be able to find Chronicles of the Kings at your local library.

I highly recommend the Chronicles of the Kings series. I can’t say enough good things about it.